Oscar De La Hoya went after Canelo Alvarez during today’s ‘Clap Back Thursdays, criticizing him over his performance last Saturday night against Edgar Berlanga at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
De La Hoya gloated about being right with his prediction that the T-Mobile wouldn’t sell out for the Canelo-Berlanga event. He then spoke about how Canelo (62-2-2, 39 KOs) failed once again to knock out an opponent and didn’t try to push for a stoppage.
Canelo tried to knock out the 193-lb Berlanga (22-1, 17 KOs), but the size, youth, and punch resistance of the New Yorker was too much for him to make a dent.
Some of the shots that Canelo landed in the fight would have knocked out most of the super middleweights in the division, but he was fighting a cruiserweight that night.
“Canelo vs. Berlanga, as I predicted, the T-Mobile Arena did not sell out. In fact, an entire section of the arena was curtained off. I know people who attended the fight and confirmed these facts for me,” said Oscar De La Hoya during today’s ‘Clap Back Thursday,’ trashing Canelo Alvarez’s event last Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“As far as the action, I called it in advance. Another fight that went the distance without any truly exciting moments. Berlanga didn’t win one round. He was never remotely in the fight from the first bell. Is this where boxing is going?”
It’s not Canelo’s fault that Berlanga just came to survive and didn’t attempt to win. You can blame Canelo for picking Berlanga in the first place because it was obvious from his barren record, filled with lesser opposition as far as the eye can see, that he would be out of his league.
Canelo should have ignored Berlanga and fought someone with actual talents, like one of The Big Four:
– David Benavidez
– David Morrell
– Christian Mbilli
– Osleys Iglesias
Berlanga didn’t belong inside the ring with Canelo, and that was obvious from the opening bell in that mismatch.
“The bar has been set so low that fighters are just happy to see fighters last 12 rounds,” said De La Hoya. “What? Fighters are getting praised for simply going the distance with a 35-year-old Canelo, who hasn’t knocked anyone out since 2021.
“Don’t you all want to see knockouts? I’m from a different time in the sport when fighters went to war in the ring. We wanted to destroy our opponents. I still took the Pacquiao fight, knowing that my body was broken and old and I couldn’t beat him, but I was a warrior. I wanted to be a legend,” said De La Hoya.
Canelo’s stamina doesn’t allow for him to push hard for knockouts because he gasses out when he throws a lot of shots. He’s forced to load up on single shots, and that makes it difficult for him to knock out his opponents unless he can catch them leaning forward with one of his uppercuts. That’s how Canelo scored his last knockout three years ago against Caleb Plant in November 2021.
“It’s a different mentality, a champions mentality. Canelo wants to get paid. He avoids Benavidez and Bivol, who schooled him just like Mayweather. He wants to cruise into retirement. Where are the fighters that have balls?” said De La Hoya.
Canelo isn’t built the way that the former six-division world champion De La Hoya was. As good as Canelo is, he wasn’t the kind of talent De La Hoya was in his prime. He was out of this world good until he hit his early 30s and was washed.
“Don’t we want to see the best fight the best? Why are we, as boxing fans, accepting this low-level competition and entertainment?” said De La Hoya. “Remember, you’re never a hater when you’re simply stating the facts.”
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